Briefs and method of making



Aprifl 2, 1968 R. M. MATTHEWS ET AL 3,375,530 7 BRIEFS AND METHOD OF MAKING Filed Jan. 11, 1966 2 Sheets-Sneet 1 BY m asm/Q,

ATTORNEYS April 2, 1968 R. M. MATTHEWS ET AL 3,375,530

BRIEFS AND METHOD OF MAKING 2 Sheets-Shee 2 Filed Jan. 11, 1966 Pane-er JL'LE K4 w 02.

BY & d1: fmasmg QM%%% S Patented Apr. 2, 1968 3,375,530 BRIEFS AND METHOD OF MAKING Robert M. Matthews, Charlotte, NC, and Jule W. Kaylor, Ellijay, Ga., assignors to Chadbonrn Gotham, Inc., Charlotte, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Jan. 11, 1966. Ser. No. 519,944 3 Claims. (Cl. 2-224) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Briefs and a method of making them, wherein a tube is knit having a central tubular reenforced zone and end zones which terminate in end bands having run barriers. The tube is slit longitudinally along any line, and the overlying slit edges notched in an area including the reenforced zone. The slit tube is opened, the ends folded in overlying relation and the sides stitched from the end bands to the notches. Elastic may be sewn to the waistband and leg openings.

This invention relates to ladies or childrens panty briefs and to methods of making them.

Panties, or briefs, have been made by cutting blanks from piece goods, or by knitting blanks to shape on a flat machine, and then stitching up the blanks to form garments. These practices have disadvantages in production and in the variety of pattern effects that can be produced.

An object of the present invention is to provide an imp oved panty and method of making it which will permit fast and continuous production.

Another object is to enable the production of garments having various pattern effects in the body portion.

A further object of the invention is to provide a garment wherein the crotch or gusset may be of an integral, reinforced, heavier yarn construction which may be automatically produced by the improved method of the invention.

A more specific object is to continuously produce a knitted tube which can be slit and cut to form a panty blank, and the blank sewn to form a panty.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one embodiment thereof, when taken i conjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, this specification.

In the drawings: i

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a tube knit in accordance with the method of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view of the same tube on a cutting board after it has been slit along one side and cut to shape;

FIGURE 3 is a view of the slit and cut blank in opened and flat condition;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a partially stitched garment;

FIGURE 5 shows the garment with elastic being applied; and

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view of a completed panty, or brief.

In general, the invention consists in the formation of a seamless, knitted tube of about twice the length of the desired finished brief, slitting the tube along the side and cutting an arcuate segment from the slitted edge midway of the tube length, opening the slit and cut tube, folding the blank over to bring the ends into coincidence and stitching the sides together, and finally sewing elastic to the top and leg openings. The invention concerns the above method of forming a garment and the garment formed thereby.

In making the tube, any desired pattern may be followed. The tube may be of the same yarn and stitch formation from end to end. It may have a central area of heavier yarn to provide a reinforced crotch in the finished panty. It may have lace areas to form the body portion of the garment and a heavier, reinforced central area. The last-mentioned arrangement is the one shown on the drawings.

The tube 1 illustrated in FIGURE 1 consists of a narrow, plain fabric band 2 which includes a run barrier, a length of lace, or textured fabric 3, a central, or crotch, section 4 of plain fabric, another length of lace, or textured fabric 5, and a final narrow, plain fabric band 6 which includes a run barrier.

The tube may be made on a circular, or seamless, knitting machine which has the transfer dial taken out of action by removal of the dial operating levers, and on which the automatic weight takeup has been made inoperative by releasing the racking pawl. The pattern, or control, drum is programmed in well-known manner to automatically cause continuous machine operation throughout the cycle required to produce a tube of desired composition.

One way in which the illustrated tube may be knit is to employ a stretch yarn having little residual shrinkage so that predetermined, knit sizes may be maintained through normal finishing processes. For example, a 30 denier 2 filament yarn, such as Fluflon, may be fed to the cylinder needles in make up with the needle dividing cam and raising cam auxiliary slide cam following the same action they do in making hosiery. This will look the stitch giving the first part of a run barrier. The machine continues to knit plain fabric for about eight courses, which produces a band 2 approximately one-half inch with a run barrier at the leading edge.

At this time, the machine drum will cause the selector drum to go into action to produce a textured pattern and the yarn feed may shift to a lighter weight yarn, for example, a 20 denier 2 filament Flufi-on yarn. This procedure will continue for a number of courses to produce the patterned section 3 of desired length.

The drum will move again, to discontinue the pattern knit and light yarn feed, and the machine will resume plain knitting, again using 30 denier 2 filament Fluflon yarn. This produces the reinforced central area 4, which as will be described, becomes the crotch area of the garment. This section also contains sufficient courses to provide the desired length of reinforced area.

The next drum movement will restore the textured pattern knit with the lighter yarn, and the textured section 5 will be knit. This usually, but not necessarily, will be the same length as the section 3.

After knitting section 5, the machine will again revert to plain knitting with the heavier yarn to form band 6. This band will be approximately one-half inch and as the end is approached, the needles will be divided to put a run barrier in the finish end similar to the one at the start.

When band 6 is completed, the drum acts to stop knitting but as the drum has not yet completed its cycle, there will be a short period of machine operation with no fabric being knitted before the cycle recommences to start another tube.

It will be realized that other programs of machine operation and other yarn sizes and arrangements may be used. The above is given simply as one example of a practical procedure, for purposes of disclosure.

When the tube 1 is completed, it is taken from the machine and pulled over a cutting board shown at 7 in FIG- URE 2. The tube is then slit along one edge of the board and notched in the slit side in the region of the central, reinforced area 4. The slit edges of the tube form the side edges 9 and 10 of the lower section 3, and the side edges 3 11 and 12 of the upper section 5. The notch forms the edges 13 and 14 of what will be the leg openings in the finished garment.

The blank, as shown in FIGURE 3, will be folded upon itself to bring the two end bands into coincidence. Band 2 will become the front waistband of the garment, section 3 the front body portion, central section 4 the crotch area, section 5 the back body portion and band 6 the back waistband. The edges 9 and 12 of the body portion will be brought together and joined by a seam 15, and the edges 10 and 11 will be brought together and joined by a seam 16. The seams will extend from the waistband to the leg openings. This wiil close the garment in its final form.

Elastic 17 will be stitched to the band sections 2 and 6, to provide a snugly fitting waistband. Elastic strips 18 and 19 will be stitched about the edges 13 and 14 which define the leg openings. The run barriers formed in the bands 2 and 6 will prevent runs into the body of the garment from the attachment of the elastic to the waistband area.

By forming the garment from a tube, as disclosed, it is possible to have a garment 20 which is formed from an integral blank. The garment may have any desired pattern or texture, and it is possible to have a knit-in reinforced crotch. Any desired combination of yarns to form the several areas is possible to allow for a wide range of design effects and utilitarian arrangements. A blank is formed by the simple slitting and notching of a tube which may be produced by a continuous operation for high speed production. It is merely necessary to form two seams to convert the blank into a garment.

After the garment 20 is completed, it is given the usual dyeing, boarding and other finishing operations conventionally used in completing knit fabric articles.

While in 'the above one practical embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be understood that the details of procedure and construction set out herein are merely by way of example and the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of making briefs comprising, knitting a tube of predetermined length having tubular end bands including run barriers and a central tubular reinforced zone, slitting the tube lengthwise from end to end, notching the slit edges substantially centrally of the ends in an area including the reinforced Zone, opening the tube to form a fl-at blank, folding the blank transversely of its length to bring the end hands into overlying relation and the slit edges on opposite sides of the notches into over.- lying relation, stitching together the overlying slit edges on opposite sides of the folded blank from the end bands to the notches to form a waistband of the connected end bands and a body portion of the joined overlying blank portions, with thenotches forming leg openings and the reinforced zone lying between the leg openings to provide a reinforced crotch.

2. In a method of making briefs as claimed in claim 1, knitting those areas of the tube between the end bands and reinforced zone of patterned texture.

3. In a method of making briefs as claimed in claim 2, attaching elastic around the joined end bands and around the edges of the notches.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,073,782 9/1913 Schultz 278 1,674,909 6/1928 McBride 2-78 2,485,004 10/ 1944 Leuliette.

3,006,175 10/1961 Morgan 66-177 3,119,120 1/1964 Faust 2-224 1 3,23 8,747 3/1966 Faust 66- 176 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,348,191 11/1963 France.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Examiner. 

